Mine-car coupler



July 17, l923-' 1.462.188

F. s. BARKS MINE CAR COUPLER Filed June 10. 192i Inventor:

J'TILCZILIL 5. 15a rka;

Patented July 17, 1923.

UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE.

FRANK S. BARKS, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO LINCOLN STEEL ANDFORG COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A. CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

MINE-CA3; COUPLER.

' Application fil ed June 10, 1921. Serial 110.476,.445.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I FRANK S. BARKS, a citizen'of the United- States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvementin Mine-Car Couplers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, in which- Figure 1 is a top plan View partly in section of my improved mine car coupler.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional-view of the parts shown in Figure 1;

Figure 8 is a detail view of the link centering spring.

- This invention relates to a new and useful improvement in mine car couplers, the object being to provide a construction which may be employed with an ordinary pin lifting device such as commonly employed on standard gauge railroads whereby it is unnecessary for a person to enter between the cars to efiect a coupling thereof, such as is .now commonly done in mine cars.

Another object of my invention is to construct the coupler heads and link inc such a manner that the cars can be hauled on tracks having curves of a relatively short radius without derailing the cars. This has heretofore' been accomplished by using a plurality of links for coupling the cars, but in service these links frequently drag on the ground and become caked with mud and dirt, which, drying thereon, makes them diflicult to handle.

Another object of my invention in using a single coupling link is to enable the cars to be automatically coupled together on a curve. 1 l

Further objects are to provide means for yieldingly centering the link and yieldingly mounting the link in a-horizontal position,

- thisyielding characteristic of the link permitting vertical movement between the faces of the coupling-buffer heads without seriously affecting the operative relation be tweenthe parts.

and hauling strains; but these are not shown, as they form no part of my present inven-' tion. I may say that the companion coupler head may be similarly mounted. Coupler head 1 has flaring sides and converging centering back walls 2. The forward edges of the horizontally disposed top and bottom walls which constitute the jaws of thecoupler being provided with upwardly and downwardly extending vertical flanges 4,

which provide a bearing face for co-operation with similar flanges on the companion coupler. I

5 indicates a strengthening rib medially arranged on the top wall of the coupler 1 which is enlarged at its forward end to form a boss having a vertical cylindrical opening 6 for receiving the cylindrical shank of a permanently" mounted coupler pin 7 This pin is provided withthe usual head portion 8above which extends a pair of'1ugs9 forming a bifurcation in which is'loosely. :ar ranged the free end ofza coiled torsional spring 10, the opposite'end of which spring is secured tothe rib 5 by means of a bolt 11. As shown in Figure 3, the free endofspring 10 is preferably refolded upon itself as at 10 to form anextended bearing to co-op erate with lugs 9. i a

7* indicates a rectangular shank portion of'coupler pin 7 below which is a cylindrical portion? reduced and threaded at its lower end as at 7 to receive a nut 12, which nut bears against a spring 13 arranged therebetween'and thelower face of the cou. pler head. elongated rectangular slot 145 in its attached end and through which thesquared' 14 indicates a linkv havingnan shank portion 7 of the coupler pin 7 passes. I

This slot permits the'link 1 1 to slide longitudinally on the coupler pin, and whenthe rear end of! the link strikes the converging back walls 2, said walls will tend to center the link; I, however, prefer to rely upon spring 10' for. centeringv purposes. This spring tends to maintain the coupler pin 7 in a position in which the refolded free end is radially disposed relative to the securing bolt 11 and as the coupling pin is free to rotate in the coupler head, it will be obviend' of the coupler pm by the torsional spring 10. This'spring 10 may be said to perform t he dual functions of centering the coupler pin-'7 and link 14: and yieldingly holding said link in a horizontal position.

" However, spring 13 may be employed to assist spring 10 in yieldingl'y holding link 14 in a horizontal position; but spring 13 may be dispensed with, if desired. i

The rectangular slot 1490f the link is closed by a cross member 14 beyondwhich the members of the link diverge, as at 1e, and are connected by anend member 14 whose inner face is arcuate while its outer edge is chamfered and formed with converg ing rounded bearingfaces 14; which are designed to oo-operate with the converging backwall 15 of the companion coupler 16.

' 17 indicates a liftable coupling pin "of or- 5 dinary construction designed to pass through the opening in the outer end of the link and to engage thewallsof registering cylindrical openings in the top and bottom jaws "of a couplerhead '16. ln'operation, lifting means may be provided to co-operate with the lift 7 able coupling pin 17 but these form no part of my present invention.

linoperation the mine cars are preferably equipped with my couplers 111 such a manner that there will be'a coupler head witha-connectedlinkat one end of the carand a female 1 female couplerhead of anadjacent'car.

coupler head at the other end of the car. The cars are preferably arranged on the track in such a way that the attached link in acoupler o f one car will be received by the The coupler heads being mounted onthe cars, the spring 10 tends-to yieldingly hold the link in a central as well as a horizontal position,-the latter being supplementally maintained by the spring 13. The elongated rectangular slot in the link permits the link to move inwardly and outwardly,-'or to be held in :position either well within, or projecting a considerable distance from, the coupler head.

- To this extent the link may be said to be floating.

i Vhenzthe cars are to be coupled together, the entering outer edge'of the link will or dinarily guide the link between the jaws of the female coupler head, the chamfered edges compensating for ordinary irregularities in the heights of the coupler heads from the track. lVhen the link enters the female coupler head and the liftable pin is cooked in position, as is the usual practice, the shock of coupling the cars together is usually sufiicient to cause the pin to drop into coupling position. Should the link engage the converging walls 15, said walls will tend'to cen ter the link, if the coupling occurs on a straight track and the link stands slightly displaced to one side. If the coupling is effected on a curved track, then the converging walls 15 tend to move the link laterally, but the arcuate shape of the end member of the link and the play between the inner face of-said end member and the coupling pin 17 is such that ordinarily the ;pin will drop into position in the fan shaped opening of the link irrespective of whether or not the link stands in the central position or is slightly displaced to one side'there'of. The side walls of the coupler jaws are cut away so that the link is free to swing laterally when the cars are being moved froma track haying a curve of relatively short radius. The vertical faces of the coupler heads when in contact' with each other form extending bearings to take care of the *bufling stresses, and these faces are sutliciently projected 'beyond the transverse plane of the end of the car body that they will prevent the corners of the car bodies from striking each other "on short curves.

The coupler heads are preferably made of steel castings and the link maybe a forging but the material of which theparts are composed and the proportions of the parts will readily suggest themselves to those skilledin the art.

hat I claim is:

l. e The combination with a coupler having spaced horizontaljaws, of a pinswiveled in said aws, a link mounted between the jaws and upon said pin, said link having sliding movement relative to said pin and having vertical movement with said pin relative. to said jaws but being designed to turn with the pin, anda spring engaging the upper end of the pin for maintaining the links in predetermined vertical and horizontal planes.

2. In a car coupler, the combination of horizontally disposed jaws spaced from each other, a pin swiveled in said jaws a linkbetween the jaws and mounted on said pin,-said pin having a bifurcated upper end and a coiled spring fixedly attached at one end to the coupler and having its free end engaging in the bifurcation of said pin and adaptward movement of said :pin.

In a coupler, the combination oflhorizontally disposed jaws, a link islidingly mounted between said jaws, means for yielded to be distorted by either-angular or up: i

ill)

1,462,188 p v p 3 ingly maintaining said link in a central horiwardly facing shoulder on said pin engaging zontally disposed position, said link having said link, and a spring thrusting said pin 1 a fan shaped opening in its outer end. downwardly to hold said link in horizontal l. The combination of a coupler having position. 5 upper and lower horizontallydisposed aws, In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my a pin pivoted in said jaws, a link mounted signature this 6th day of June, 1921. for rotation with said pin and supported on the upper face of said lower jaw, a down- 1 FRANK S. BARKS. 

